Kapolei police station cleared because of threats

The Honolulu Police Department's Kapolei Station was closed to the public for about 2 1/2 hours yesterday because a man threatening to shoot himself barricaded himself behind a soda vending machine in the station.

HPD spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii said officers were able to apprehend the man, 40, without incident. He said the man did not have a gun but a knife, which he used to cut his wrists.

A city ambulance crew said the wounds were superficial and that the man is from Nanakuli. The ambulance crew transported him to the Queen's Medical Center for psychiatric observation.

Police will not pursue criminal charges, Fujii said. "It was clearly a plea for help," he said.

The man walked into the Kapolei Station around 9 a.m. and threatened to kill himself, Fujii said.

Officers from the department's Specialized Services Division and a crisis negotiator were called to the scene after the man had squeezed behind one of the vending machines in a corridor on the first floor. Fujii said part of the station building was evacuated.

At about 11:30 a.m., officers saw their opportunity to apprehend the man after they noticed he was less active and apparently had weakened, Fujii said.